


My Partner in This Action

by Mara



Category: Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger | Special Police Dekaranger
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 06:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3437684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/pseuds/Mara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miwa has the wrong idea about Hoji and Ban, obviously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Partner in This Action

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt on the Sentai Prompt Meme. This takes place shortly after ep. 43 (in which the asteroid nearly blows up the Earth).

The way Miwa was glaring at him, Hoji knew he was in for a bad dinner with his sister if he didn't answer her question. He made a last-ditch effort to avoid the topic:

"It was a difficult week at work. Surely you saw the monster that nearly destroyed the city yesterday! It took everything we had to destroy it."

Miwa waved her chopsticks in front of his face. "Ridiculous," she said, nearly poking out one of his eyes. "You deal with those twice a week and I've never seen you look like this."

"I'm fine!" He stabbed a piece of liver with more force than necessary, trying to avoid her gaze.

"Hoji..." Her dejected expression was clear even in his peripheral vision. Oh gods, she was going to be sad at him. He winced. She knew he couldn't take that. "I just worry about you. Please tell me what's bothering you?"

With a groan, Hoji gave in. "Fine. Ban and I had to make an incredibly difficult flight into space to blow up a meteor. It was dangerous and I wasn't sure we'd make it back."

She grabbed the hand that wasn't holding his chopsticks. "Ah! But you're both okay?"

Hoji stared down at his food. "Yes, we're fine."

"What aren't you telling me?"

To his shock, his throat closed up and all he could do was shake his head. This was ridiculous. Everything was fine and that idiot had made it back with nothing more than a few bumps and bruises. There was absolutely no reason to be crying. Not that he was crying. Of course not.

Miwa had gotten up from her side of the table and knelt beside him, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Did something happen? You said you were worried about his tendency to rush into things."

With a sharp nod, Hoji cleared his throat. "In this case, he was right. He came up with a solution I didn't see."

She let go and stared at him. "Are you upset that he beat you?"

"What?" He stared back. "No!"

"Then what?" She frowned. 

"I thought he was dead!"

Miwa gasped, covering her mouth.

Hoji looked back down at his food. "I thought he was making a suicide run at the center of the meteor. I didn't know he was alive until later."

"Oh, Hoji." She put her arm around him again.

"I have no idea why it's still bothering me that the idiot showed his usual ability to sail in and out of danger with complete disregard for common sense."

"Of course you're still upset if you thought your boyfriend was dead!"

"He's not my partn—" Hoji began automatically. "What?" he said, looking up at her in shock.

"I'm a little hurt that I had to figure it out myself rather than being told by my only brother, but I like Banban, so it's okay." She smiled, moving back around the table to her seat.

"What?"

With a roll of the eyes, Miwa went back to her dinner. "I have no idea why you think it's still a secret. You fight like an old married couple. I can't believe there's anyone in Tokyo who doesn't know."

"What?" Hoji couldn't help it. He had no idea what else to say.

"You and your boyfriend are the most open secret in town," she said, picking up a piece of fish, which she ate with delight.

"He's not...we're not..." Hoji blinked a few times. "What?" he finally managed, his voice sounding faintly pathetic.

"It's okay," she said, patting his arm. "When you're ready, we'll talk about it some more. Meanwhile, I want to talk about my wedding and how to make sure you and your friends actually _attend_."

* * *

Hoji staggered back into the base, rather the worse for wear. He wasn't drunk...exactly. It was just that he'd felt the need for a few cups of sake to fortify himself while dealing with his sister and her bizarre ideas.

He went to his quarters, but found himself too restless to sleep. He'd drunk too much for target practice, he thought with some regret. Pacing between the bed and the wall, he decided it was a good time to review a cold case. It would at least give him some distraction.

Washing his face, he examined himself in the mirror, deciding he looked professional enough to head up to the Deka Room.

Seated at the center table, he used the holographic display to bring up the evidence from a 20-year-old homicide that Doggie had always believed involved an Alienizer. Within moments he was buried in the details, turning theories this way and that, concentrating too hard to even notice the door opening.

"Hoji?" Swan asked, sounding surprised.

He jumped slightly, turning to look at her. "Hmm?"

"You're not on duty now, are you? I thought you had the day off to spend time with your sister."

Hoji wanted to grit his teeth at the way Ban felt the need to tell everyone about his business. "We had dinner and I returned to base."

"Then surely you should be sleeping." Swan smiled as she put the cup she was holding (sencha, by the smell of it) on the table and sat down next to him. "It's quite late."

Hoji didn't want to argue with a superior officer, but he couldn't resist. "Shouldn't _you_ be sleeping?"

Her smile grew wider. "Yes, I should." Swan drank some tea. "But sometimes I think our jobs make it difficult to sleep properly."

"Mmm," he said.

She glanced at the hologram he had above the table, "Or perhaps it's not the work, since I doubt you were tossing and turning over this case. I'm fairly sure you were a young child when she died."

Hoji was about to argue that it didn't make the case any less worthy of his attention, but of course he knew Swan hadn't meant that at all. Instead he stared at the slowly turning image of a woman who had died too young of mysterious causes, leaving behind a distraught husband whose recorded testimony was... "Miwa thinks Ban is my boyfriend," he said. "She says we fight like a married couple."

There was a slight clink as Swan put her teacup down but she didn't say anything.

"Never mind." Hoji shook his head. "I don't know why I said that. I—"

"Hoji." Swan's voice was soft but it cut through his words easily.

"I apologize." He bowed deeply and began to shut down his open files. "I may have had more sake than was wise."

Swan made a strange sound and he looked up sharply. She had a hand over her mouth but seemed to be...laughing? She composed herself quickly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh."

"What's so funny?" Hoji asked.

Swan bit her lip, looking at him. "Perhaps you should consider your sister's words."

"What?"

"Please think about what she said." Swan was serious now. "For me?"

"Of...of course." He inclined his head. It was impossible to refuse Swan anything.

"And try and get some sleep."

"If you'll promise to do the same."

Swan smiled at him. "I promise." Picking up her tea, she left the room.

Hoji closed out his work on autopilot, his feet taking him automatically to the base's roof, everyone's favorite thinking spot. Standing near the edge, he looked out over the city. To the west, he could see safety lights illuminating the construction site swiftly rebuilding three office buildings damaged last month. 

To the south, he could just see the edge of a park that had been demolished at the beginning of the year by some kind of giant mole monster. A foundation whose name he couldn't recall had donated the money to replant everything and local schoolchildren had helped design the new park.

And he was clearly avoiding doing what Swan had asked him to do, Hoji thought. Giving in to the remains of the sake in his system, he sat down cross-legged where he was on the hard roof, automatically kicking away a few rocks that tried to stick into his legs.

So...Miwa thought Ban was his boyfriend. Because they argued a lot. Which was frankly a ridiculous reason.

And okay, in the extremes of believing Ban dead, he might possibly have admitted the man wasn't useless. Maybe he'd called him the ultimate partner. But that was obviously just the stress talking. Fortunately, nobody had heard it.

Miwa was right, though, that the reason he hated frivolous people was because they were the complete opposite of him. Ban might be fun but fun didn't solve crimes or keep people alive and...

Damn it, Hoji thought, taking careful deep breaths. This ridiculous emotional reaction was getting out of hand. Perhaps he was getting ill or he'd been correct earlier and had drunk more sake than he recalled. Because getting worked up over Ban nearly dying was pointless for multiple reasons.

First of all, he nearly got himself killed _every day_! Hoji glared off into the night. His disregard for his own safety was, well, as Tetsu would say, it was nonsense.

In addition, it was ridiculous for Hoji to react so strongly to the possible death of Ban, of all people. The man was loud, obnoxious, reckless, nosy...

Hoji rubbed his temples. And he apparently spent a great deal too much time thinking about Ban. Maybe it was time to sleep, as he'd also promised Swan. Yawning, he started to stand up...which was when he heard the footsteps.

Hoji sighed. Of the hundreds of people who worked at the base and the dozens who lived there, he knew just who was walking up behind him. Because the universe hated him.

"Partner!" 

"Don't call me partner," Hoji said.

Dropping down beside him, Ban grinned, ignoring the response just as he had hundreds of times before. Which was just one of the aggravating things about him. He showed up and decided they were going to be partners and apparently everyone else went along with the delusion.

"What's on your mind?" Ban glanced sideways at him.

Hoji just shook his head. He hadn't had nearly enough sake for _this_ conversation.

"Does it have anything to do with the fact your sister called me and asked if you were okay?"

Hoji whipped his head around to stare at Ban. 

Ban smiled. "She was very vague about what was wrong but she was clearly worried about you. It's sweet."

"Sweet," Hoji muttered. "Interfering, more like."

"Hmm?"

"Getting engaged has twisted her brain." Hoji sniffed. "She thinks everyone is in a relationship."

Ban shrugged. "Not everyone. Just us."

Hoji's stomach felt like it was trying to drop out of his body entirely and his head spun. "How...?"

Ban smiled. "Why else would she call _me_ to find out if you're okay?"

Hoji shook his head although he wasn't entirely sure what he was disagreeing with.

"It's flattering," Ban said with a shrug. "I mean, that your sister would approve."

"Ah."

Ban looked out at the city with his usual enormous smile. "I'm glad I didn't die yesterday."

"I'm glad too," Hoji managed.

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was going to try. I was still figuring it out as I sent you back to Earth."

"That's..." Hoji cleared his throat. "I'm not upset you didn't tell me."

"Then what are you upset about?" Ban turned, looking directly into his eyes.

Hoji cursed internally. "Don't sacrifice yourself, that's all."

Ban didn't answer, holding his gaze and unwontedly serious. 

And that was it. Hoji had dealt with too much in the past 48 hours. Too much stupidity and frivolity and people talking nonsense and near-death experiences and sisters. 

Hoji grabbed Ban's shirt and dragged him over, putting a hand into Ban's stupid spikey hair to make sure he couldn't get away. The kiss was fierce and angry and possessive and it was all Hoji had left at this point.

It took a while for Hoji to realize that Ban wasn't trying to move away. In fact, Ban was participating fully and enthusiastically in the kiss and when Hoji finally pulled back, Ban tried to follow him.

"Wait," Hoji managed, putting a hand on Ban's chest to stop him and trying to catch his breath.

"Why?"

Blinking, Hoji realized Ban was asking why they were stopping. "What was that?"

"You started it," Ban said, grinning as he sat back on his heels. "I was hoping it meant I really was your boyfriend."

Hoji groaned. "You're hopeless."

"Yeah." Ban shrugged. "And you're a perfectionist."

"You're too loud."

"You're too quiet."

"You're disorganized."

"You're incapable of leaving paperwork unfiled." Ban laughed. "I can do this all day, you know."

"You...I can't..."

Ban considered Hoji for a moment. "Do you want to kiss me again?"

A long pause. "Yes."

"Then let's start there and work out the rest of it later."

"That's exactly the problem! You just rush into things and don't think about consequences!"

Ban leaned over and threw his arms around Hoji. "I'm sorry I scared you. I can't promise I won't do it again."

"Damn it." Hoji slowly put his arms around Ban. "But don't call me your boyfriend."

"Okay, partner."

Hoji groaned, letting his head drop onto Ban's shoulder. 

\--end--

**Author's Note:**

> In my universe, Ban never leaves Earth because he stays with Hoji. So there.


End file.
